Picture this. Your team is creating a PDF brochure for an important business or charity event. The first draft is coming along nicely, but there are several copy and imagery edits you need to make before it’s ready to go.
Your trusty Mac is waiting at the ready. But now you’re thinking, ‘How do I edit a PDF on a Mac?’. Luckily, Adobe Acrobat is here to help with this guide on how to edit a PDF on Mac.
Yes, you can edit a PDF on a Mac using the built-in Preview app. This can be a great tool for making simple changes to a PDF. But for more advanced edits, you may need to look to incorporate another tool, such as Adobe Acrobat.
With Adobe Acrobat online services, you can easily edit PDF files on your Mac. Use the online tools to make some initial changes, and quickly communicate to collaborators what needs adding, deleting or changing.
To get started, go to Acrobat online services on any web browser on your Mac and follow these steps:
1. Click the Select a File button.
3. After the file uploads, sign in with your Adobe login to access the editing features.
4. Use the Edit a PDF tools on the left-hand panel to add text, highlight key sections, draw and annotate the content, and more.
Unsure of how to open a PDF to begin with? Preview is the default application for viewing a PDF on a Mac computer if you don’t have access to Adobe Acrobat.
To open a PDF with Preview just:
Keep in mind, you’ll only be able to view the PDF with Preview – you won’t be able to make changes. If you want to edit a PDF on your Mac, use drop-down menus or sign PDFs, it’s best to open the file with software designed for PDFs, like Adobe Acrobat.
If you already have Adobe Acrobat installed on your Mac, you can simply double-click your PDF and Acrobat will open it automatically. If it doesn’t, you can control-click your PDF and select Open With > Adobe Acrobat.
You can add new text to a PDF in Preview, but you won’t be able to edit existing text.
Here’s how to add new text to a PDF in the Preview app:
To change the font, size and style of the text, you can use the text icon. You can also change the colour of the text by selecting the colour box in the top right-hand corner. Then pick out your desired shade from the colour palette.
You can rotate, crop, annotate and adjust the size of an image in the Preview app. Just choose your desired function from the toolbar.
For example, to crop an image:
How to Edit PDFs on a Mac using Acrobat Pro.
Adobe Acrobat Pro is the one-stop tool for PDF management. Advanced tools enable you to create PDFs from scratch, leave annotations and feedback, work with images and make fillable forms. You can also keep PDFs even more secure with password protection and redaction tools.
Ready to make Acrobat the default PDF viewer on your Mac? Just:
Every time you open a PDF, it should now automatically open in Acrobat.
Whichever option you choose —Preview, Acrobat online or Acrobat Pro — you can easily open and edit PDFs on your Mac. Each has its own advantages, so it’s important to explore your options and pick the best tool for you.
Here are some frequently asked questions about opening and editing a PDF on a Mac
The default application to open a PDF on a Mac is Preview. However, this will only allow you to view the PDF, so you won’t be able to make any edits. If you need to edit a PDF on a MacBook, consider opening the file with PDF management tool, like Adobe Acrobat.
To manage permissions for a PDF on a Mac, open the Preview app. Then open the PDF you want to manage and navigate to File, followed by Edit Permissions. From here, you can set a password to open the PDF, choose which features require a password, or change the owner password. Alternatively, you can use Adobe Acrobat to password-protect your PDF.H2: Related Content.
Get more out of Acrobat with our related resources:
Sign up to Adobe Acrobat to edit a PDF on a Mac today. All it takes is a few clicks.